Hispanic American Bank, Free Checking Accounts
Overall rating of the bank
Advantages and disadvantages
Savings
Annual percentage return (APY)
0.10% APY
Benefits
- Minimum opening deposit of $ 50
- Easy to waive monthly service fee of $ 5
The inconvenients
- Low APY
- Interest compounded monthly, not daily
- $ 5 monthly service charge
- Bank with 12 branches in New York (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens) and 1 in New Jersey (Union City)
- Most of the board members are Hispanic and the bank serves a minority community
- To waive the monthly service charge of $ 5, maintain a minimum daily balance of $ 100
- Interest compounded monthly, paid monthly
- FDIC member
You only need to keep $ 100 in your Ponce Bank savings account to waive the monthly service charge of $ 5. However, you would earn a much better interest rate with a high yield online savings account.
Verification
Annual percentage return (APY)
Nothing
Benefits
- No monthly service fees
- Minimum opening deposit of $ 50
- No out-of-network ATM fees
- You have the option to decline overdraft fees, so your transaction will be declined instead.
The inconvenients
- Does not reimburse fees charged by off-network ATM providers
- $ 29 overdraft fee
- Bank with 12 branches in New York (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens) and 1 in New Jersey (Union City)
- Free ATMs in branches and Citibank branches
- Most of the board members are Hispanic and the bank serves a minority community
- FDIC member
The Ponce Bank Simply Free checking account is a good free checking account with no monthly fees or minimum balance. Ponce also offers a few other types of chequing accounts, most of which don’t have monthly fees.
CD
Annual percentage return (APY)
0.05% to 0.60% APY
Minimum deposit
$ 500 to $ 1,000
Benefits
- Terms as short as 1 month
- Minimum deposit of $ 500 for durations of 1 to 6 months
- Competitive APY
The inconvenients
- Minimum opening deposit of $ 1,000 for terms of 1 to 5 years
- High early withdrawal penalties
- Interest compounded monthly, not daily
- Bank with 12 branches in New York (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens) and 1 in New Jersey (Union City)
- Most of the board members are Hispanic and the bank serves a minority community
- The durations vary from 1 month to 5 years
- Minimum deposit of $ 500 for terms of 1 to 6 months; Minimum deposit of $ 1,000 for terms of 12 months to 5 years
- Early withdrawal penalties depend on the length and balance of the term, but can reach up to 2.5 years of interest over a 5-year term
- Interest compounded monthly, paid monthly
- FDIC member
Ponce Bank pays competitive interest rates on CDs. You can open for six months or less with just $ 500, and you will need $ 1,000 to open a CD with a duration of more than six months.
Money market account
Annual percentage return (APY)
0.10% to 0.20% APY
Benefits
- Minimum opening deposit of $ 50
- Includes debit card and paper checks
- No out-of-network ATM fees
The inconvenients
- $ 10 monthly service charge
- Low APY
- Interest compounded monthly, not daily
- Does not reimburse fees charged by off-network ATM providers
- Bank with 12 branches in New York (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens) and 1 in New Jersey (Union City)
- Free ATMs in branches and Citibank branches
- Most of the board members are Hispanic and the bank serves a minority community
- Waive the monthly service charge of $ 10 by maintaining a minimum daily balance of $ 500
- Graduated interest rates: get a higher rate when your balance reaches $ 1,500 and $ 50,000
- Interest compounded monthly, paid monthly
- FDIC member
Ponce Bank Money Market Account comes with a debit card and paper checks. This could be a good place to keep your emergency fund, as you can use the card or checks to quickly access your savings if needed.
How does the Ponce bank work?
Ponce Bank is a minority depository institution; most of its board members are Hispanics, and Ponce serves a minority community.
There are 12 branches in New York (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens) and one in New Jersey (Union City). You can use an ATM free of charge at every branch and at Citibank branches.
Branch opening hours vary slightly by location, but all are open Monday through Friday and closed on weekends. You can call customer service Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, Friday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET, and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET.
The Ponce Bank mobile app has 4.8 out of 5 stars in the Apple Store and 4.5 out of 5 stars in the Google Play Store.
Your deposits are FDIC insured up to $ 250,000, or up to $ 500,000 for joint accounts.
Is Ponce Bank trustworthy?
Ponce Bank has no public controversy.
Better Business Bureau gives Ponce Bank a B- in reliability. The BBB assesses reliability by examining responses to customer complaints, honesty in advertising, and openness about business practices.
BBB says it gives Ponce a B- because the bank failed to respond to half of customer complaints on the BBB website. But given that Ponce only has two customer complaints in total, you might want to take this B rating with a grain of salt.
How Ponce Bank compares to similar institutions
We compared Ponce Bank to two other Hispanic-American banks in New York: Popular Bank and International Finance Bank.
Banque Ponce vs Banque Populaire
Popular Bank has more branches than Ponce Bank, so this may be the most convenient option for you.
Ponce offers several free checking accounts. But you might prefer Popular if you have enough money in your accounts to benefit from its. rewards program. Rewards members can waive a variety of fees and receive ATM fee refunds.
Banque Ponce v Banque de Finance Internationale
International Finance Bank is primarily in Florida and has only one branch in New York. You may prefer Ponce Bank if there is a branch closer to your home or office.
But you might like International Finance Bank if you travel regularly. The bank reimburses up to five off-grid ATM fees each month, including international ATM fees.
